Announcements

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently announced the availability of a new computer model to help hospitals and health systems plan antibiotic dispensing and vaccination campaigns to respond to bioterrorism or large-scale natural disease outbreaks.

Funded by AHRQ, this new resource is the Nation's first computerized staffing model that can be downloaded as a spreadsheet and used to calculate the specific needs of local health care systems based on the number of staff they have and the number of patients they would need to treat quickly in the event of a bioterrorism event.

Researchers at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York developed the model after testing a variety of patient triage and drug dispensing plans. Specifically, they evaluated the 2001 New York City and Washington, DC, anthrax responses, subsequent large-scale live disaster drills in New York City and Arizona in which thousands of volunteers were given fake drugs in response to a hypothetical anthrax attack, and planning models for bioterrorism response developed by California, Florida, Illinois, and other States. Taking elements from these plans, the research team, led by Nathaniel Hupert, M.D., M.P.H., developed two "best practice" dispensing clinic designs that could be used in the event of a bioterrorism attack, including attacks involving anthrax and smallpox, or in the setting of natural outbreaks requiring antibiotics or vaccinations.

The newly released computer model allows health care systems' planners to estimate the number and type of staff required to operate these clinics in order to provide an entire community with critical medical supplies in an efficient and timely fashion. The model can be downloaded to run on common spreadsheet software and can be customized for use by health officials at all levels of government, hospital administration, and emergency medical planning.

The new tool is part of a growing portfolio of bioterrorism preparedness response and research sponsored by AHRQ, with funding from the HHS Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and the Health Resources and Services Administration. This year, AHRQ is using approximately $10 million in FY 2003 funds to start several new projects and expand several others begun under the Agency's October 2000 bioterrorism initiative.

Collectively, the 28 AHRQ projects cover a wide spectrum of research on bioterrorism preparedness and response, including medication/vaccine dispensing; State and regional models; surge capacity; pediatric care; use of information technology; clinician training; clinical/public health linkages; and translating/disseminating bioterrorism research into practice.

Additional grantees include Emory University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, AHRQ's Evidence-based Practice Center at Stanford University/University of California San Francisco, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In addition, the University of Alabama at Birmingham recently updated its AHRQ-sponsored Web site to include reference sections on anthrax and smallpox and added new continuing education modules for internal medicine and pediatrics

Additionally, the Agency recently released a program announcement stating the availability of 1- to 2-year research grants for work that examines and promotes the public health care system's readiness for a bioterrorist event and other public health emergencies through the development of new evidence, tools, and models.